SC Spotlight – Midfielders

PREMIUMS

Patrick Dangerfield

Coming off his greatest scoring season yet, top scorer Patrick Dangerfield starts at a costly price of close to $750,000. He’s nearly $100,000 more expensive than second top scorer, Dustin Martin, which clearly signifies just how dominate and consistent Danger was in 2017. He increased his average from 130 the year before to 136, and there’s no signs of Danger slowing down anytime soon. Dangerfield scored 130 + in 15 out of 22 games last year, and if that’s not enough to convince the SC community to pick him, than nothing will. Still in his prime at 27, Dangerfield is a must have this year, regardless of price. Currently sitting in only 35% of teams, I’m confident that the remaining 65% have no idea about Supercoach.

Nat Fyfe

This is blatantly one of the easiest choices in 2018. Fyfe came back from an injury plagued 2016, and was evidently influential throughout stages in 2017. Fyfe averaged 109 by seasons end after posting regular large scores in the 8 remaining games, where he averaged 126 points. With his injuries behind him and a full pre-season under his belt, I can see Fyfe challenging Dangerfield for top position this year. Remarkably, he’s only in 50% of teams (should be 100%). And if you’re reading this, I’m begging you to include Fyfe in your starting SC team this year!

Clayton Oliver

The forgotten premium midfielder from 2017 Clayton Oliver, is completely flying under the radar this season, and it’s difficult to understand why. The only comments I ever hear in regards to Clayton Oliver is that he “handballs too much” or he “never kicks the ball”. While these are both valid points, I don’t agree with the people who say they won’t pick him due to those particular reasons. In only his second season, Oliver averaged close to 112 points a game, and ended up being one of the most dependable midfielders in 2017. He fell below 100 on only 4 occasions, with 3 of those scores being in the 90s. These are unbelievable and unseen numbers from a second year player. And if you look deeper into Oliver’s stats from last year, you will find that he averaged the equal fourth most disposals in the competition with 29.95, the second most contested possessions with 15.4 (led by Patrick Dangerfield, of course), as well as the 7 th most tackles with 6.91. All vital stats in terms of Supercoach scoring. Need I say more?

MID-PRICERS

Stephen Coniglio

Honestly, I’m not too sure what to make of Coniglio this season. He had his fair share of injuries throughout 2017, but he also managed some excellent scores when he was on the park. In 2016, he averaged a career high 106 but was only able to achieve an average of 91 in 2017, mainly due to injuries. Coniglio is at what I believe, an awkward price. At $452,000, he’s probably $100,000 more expensive then the perfect mid-price option. I’d only consider Coniglio if I thought he had the potential to be a top 10 mid and would definitely not use him just as a stepping stone to a fallen premium.

David Armitage

Armitage is at a much more reasonable and affordable price than Coniglio, especially if you’re contemplating which mid-pricer to choose for your 6 th midfield spot. He’s the right price to be the perfect player to select as that stepping stone to a fallen premium early on in the season. However, my only concern with Armitage is his scoring consistency. Armitage has only averaged over 100 once in his long career and probably needs to average around 90 to be a realistic option. His selection will be heavily reliant on how well rookies Andrew Brayshaw and Paddy Dow score throughout the JLT series. If both rookies were only able to manage 50-65 scores, then I’ll be more than happy to take the risk on spending the extra $110,000 on Armitage.

Rookies

Nick Holman

Ahhhh, yes. Nick Holman. Basically, he hasn’t played senior football since he was at Carlton in 2015. Holman appears to be one of the must have rookies this year after switching clubs to the Gold Coast Suns at the end of last year. Holman is expected to line up round 1, and his price tag of $102,400 makes him the ultimate cash cow. He will spend most of his time around half-forward this year, but is likely to rotate through the midfield at times. At his price, he needs to come under serious deliberation when selecting rookie midfielders this season.

Dom Barry

Formerly on Melbourne’s list back in 2014, Dom Barry wasn’t entirely sure if football was what he wanted to pursue a career in. At the end of the 2014 season, after struggling mentally throughout the year, he quit football and decided to return home. Barry decided he was ready to return to football in 2017 and made his comeback through the SANFL where he impressed for Glenelg. He was then successful in the draft with Port Adelaide selecting him with pick #61. Now, with Barry overcoming the difficulties he suffered during his years at Melbourne, he appears ready to make an immediate impact at AFL level. Barry will no doubt assist Port Adelaide’s chances in seeking premiership glory and should play a pivotal role in the midfield all season.